Best winter riding near Bellevue?

Hey all. I've been alternating tiger and duthie as my default spots as it's pretty hard for me to get a LONG time away from work, kids and wifey to go riding. With tiger closing today that cuts out half of my spots.

Duthie is fun but you really can't get in serious climbing in a short period of time.

What would be your next choice for winter riding in the area. I'd like to keep it within a 20-30 min drive one way max.

Good calls but GR is packed on the off season. Taylor across from Tiger on the south side is open all year around and has a good climb.
Farther north up the valley is Cherry Valley with about 500 feet at a whack and Lord Hill is about the same just over the county line. Why keep it at just two places with so many options???

Like Borneo said, the upper Taylor Mountain trails are good fun in the winter with decent climbs. Black Diamond has Summit and Henry's Ridge and they drain well and are fun in the winter too. It might be a 40 minute drive from Bellevue, but its worth it.

Tokul and Black Diamond are pretty much the two places we ride most the winter months.

Tolt-Mcdonald can be decent in the winter too, depending on which trails you hit. A few in the middle get pretty muddy but the rest are alright. While you don't get a ton of climbs, "It's a *****" is always good to get your heart rate up right outta the gate.

Tapeworm in Renton drains pretty well, and is mostly under tree cover, though the roots get mighty slick when they are wet. Once you get used to the typewriter effect it's good fun though.

Re: Best winter riding near Bellevue?

Winter is great for exploring your neighborhood.

I like walking this time of year an hour or two as a way to get outside and skip driving.

The Thrilla was created by Kevin who didn't want to drive after work to ride. The more he looked the more he found. Thankfully he shared it with us and the mileage and elevation are about equal to grand ridge + duthie.

In Bellevue I led a hike once from the Slough park near I 90 though Bellevue botanical gardens all the way to sammamish lake. No idea if bike are allowed but great after dark walking...

Thanks all. I can ride GR weekdays/mid day so no issues with crowding. Same with tokul, so it sounds like I'll do those and Duthie, explore the rest when I have more time than my typical 3 hour window (including driving)

As for local, I know the hood pretty well. When I actually go to the office I commute from the lake hills area to downtown bvue probably 65% trails (the lake to lake trail system). It's ok for commuting, beats getting on the roadie, but it's gravel trails mostly with a few small sections of single track. The best in town single track is next to the kelsey creek farm and is part of my commute. It's sweet and rarely hiked but very short. You'd have to loop it a bunch of times to get any decent riding in.

The Weowna park trail system at the end of my block is just about equal, the issue there is joggers and dog walkers at all times and the short length. It's just not a lot of fun to ride because of that despite being a sweet trail. I love running it, thats what I do when I have less than 3 hours to get some outdoor time in.

The Weowna park trail system at the end of my block is just about equal, the issue there is joggers and dog walkers at all times and the short length. It's just not a lot of fun to ride because of that despite being a sweet trail. I love running it, thats what I do when I have less than 3 hours to get some outdoor time in.

The Weowna park trail system was almost enough to get me to start running again.

Luckily I moved just far enough away to not hear the siren song anymore!